


strawberries and secrets

by flyingroses121



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: 1k, Fluff, M/M, Tooth Rotting Fluff, jupeter, sharing food, this is so tender boys prepare yourselves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:55:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22042174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingroses121/pseuds/flyingroses121
Summary: Peter works himself to the bone. The crew knows this, and when Buddy asks Juno to check on him, he obliges, of course.
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 129





	strawberries and secrets

**Author's Note:**

> hey hi hello this fic is heavily based on art created by @scintillart on tumblr! please check their work out it is amazing!

Juno let out a sigh as he sat up and stretched his arms. They had grown stiff as he researched information about the next person they were stealing from. No one big, just an Earthian billionaire with too much money for their own good. He glanced at the time on his monitor and slowly stood with a small grunt of effort. How long had he been sitting..?

No matter. It was dinner time, and Buddy expected him to join the crew tonight.

He walked out of his room and rubbed his eye as the harsh, almost white light of the hallway hit his face. He walked down the hall, pausing at Peter’s room. He wondered if he was okay- he hadn’t been out of his room in quite some time. Juno knew he liked to do extensive research, but surely he could take a break to eat? Maybe he should knock...

“Are you worried about him?”

Juno jumped and turned sharply to see Vespa at his side. “Uh… kinda.” He cleared his throat and walked beside Vespa to the dining room. “It’s just that he likes to overwork himself, y’know? I don’t want him to hurt himself.”

Vespa hummed and nodded. “I get it. Sometimes, Buddy does that too. She neglects self care, and I have to make her actually take care of herself.”

Juno pushed up the sleeves of his sweater and nodded as he listened. “Maybe I should do that to him.”

She didn’t respond, and they got to the dining room soon enough. Rita and Jet were already eating, making small conversation with Buddy. They all looked up when they entered the room. “Good evening, you two!” Buddy greeted with a smile.

“Hey, Buddy.” Vespa smiled and joined her girlfriend, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she sat.

“Hey.” Juno greeted, yawning as he stepped into the kitchen to look for food.

Buddy draped an arm around Vespa and lifted slightly to look down the hall. “Where’s Peter?”

Juno shrugged and opened the fridge. “Probably working. You know how he is.”

Buddy hummed, furrowing her brows. “Do you mind to go check on him?”

Juno turned to her and shook his head. “I’ll check on him, no problem. I’ll take him some…” he turned back to the fridge, “strawberries. Because that looks like all we have.”

“Oh, Mista Steel, we have more than strawberries! Don’t be dramatic.” Rita said, twirling pasta on her fork.

“Peter likes strawberries, Rita!” He turned to her with furrowed brows as he pulled the plastic container out of the fridge. Rita held up her hands in mock offense, and they laughed softly at their staged rivalry.

Jet spoke up. “Make sure to leave at least half. I too enjoy strawberries.”

“Will do, big guy.” Juno replied.

He took down a gray bowl and set it on the counter. He opened the strawberries and rinsed them off, getting lost in thought as he removed stem after stem. He made sure to take note of how many strawberries were left as he placed them in the bowl.

“Juno, you will eat with us, right?” Buddy called from where she was sitting.

Juno looked up. “Uh, sure. I’ll take these to Ransom then come back.” He looked back down at the bowl. That looked like enough. He put the rest of the strawberries back in the fridge and made a cup of water before grabbing the bowl and making his way out of the kitchen.

“Oh, boss! Tell Mista Ransom I said hi!” Rita called after him.

“I will, Rita.” Juno turned and flashed her a smile as he walked down the hall.

When he got to Peter’s room, he balanced the cup between his torso and his arm and knocked with his free hand. “Hey, Ransom. It’s Steel.” He said.

Peter’s muffled voice called through, “Come in, Juno.”

Juno opened the door and took the cup in his hand again. “Uh… Buddy wanted me to check on you.” He stepped in and put the bowl and cup down on the desk where Peter was sitting.

“Oh!” Peter looked down at the food. “Was… this from her?” He asked, looking back up at Juno.

“My idea, actually. I remembered that you liked strawberries, and figured you could use some water. You’re probably tired, from researching all day.” Juno had crossed his arms, and was messing with his bunched up sleeve by his elbow.

Peter smiled, standing and stretching his arms up. “Well, I appreciate it. Thank you, Juno.”

Juno smiled softly back at him. “Yeah, uh… no problem, Ransom.”

“Oh, it’s just the two of us. Call me my name.” Peter reached forward and put a hand on top of the one playing with his sleeve.

Juno uncrossed his arms and took Peter’s offer, lacing their fingers. “You know, Nureyev, you really shouldn’t spend so much time researching. I get that you want to be prepared, but self care is more important. We don’t have a heist without a master thief.”

Peter chuckled, feeling a warm feeling blossom through him when Juno said that. “Yes, I know. It’s just hard to find focus again after stopping. I’ll try to take better care of myself, though. Since you said something about it.”

Juno rolled his eyes with a huff and a smile. “Don’t take care of yourself because I told you to.”

“It makes it easier. Knowing that someone cares enough to bring you your favorite fruit. I didn’t even know we had strawberries on board.”

“There’s still half a container, but Jet asked me to leave some. He likes them, too.” Juno came a little closer to Peter.

“Good to know.” Peter replied.

Juno took a breath and looked at their hands, tapping his thumb on Peter’s. “Y’know, Nureyev…”

“Yes, Juno?”

Juno seemed to pause before saying, “Never mind. Not a good time. Kiss me.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Peter’s lips.

Peter laughed softly and leaned into the brief kiss, letting his eyes flutter closed. When it broke, Peter said, “No, what did you want to say?”

“Nothing, Nureyev. Don’t worry about it. We can talk about it later.” Juno smiled and raised his other hand to cup Peter’s cheek.

Peter placed his free hand on Juno’s. “Whatever you say, dear.” He leaned down and kissed him once again. “Are you staying with me?”

“I would, but I told the crew I would join them for dinner. I’ll be back, though.”

“I’ll wait for you, then. See you soon, love.”

“Shut up, I’ll literally be down the hall.”

They laughed and kissed one more time before Juno left.

Juno got back and rummaged around the kitchen before settling on leftover noodles from the previous night. He sat in front of Rita and rested his face on his chin.

“How is Peter, Juno?” Buddy asked.

“He’s fine. Just working.” He twirled some noodles on his fork and took a bite.

“Good. What about you, Juno?”

Juno looked at her with a raised eyebrow. “What about me?” He replied.

“How are you?”

“I’m fine.”

Vespa spoke up. “Idiot, there’s red lipstick all over your mouth. You weren’t wearing lipstick when you came in here before you went to see Ransom.”

Juno touched his lips, and sure enough, they came away red. “Uh… don’t worry about it. I’m fine.” Juno shook his head to dismiss the matter.

Rita snickered, bringing a hand up over her mouth. “Mista Steel, is there somethin’ you need to tell us?”

“Shut up, Rita.” He shot her a glare, but not without a small smile. “I’m not talking about the lipstick.”

When Juno finished eating, he put away his bowl and started to go back to Peter’s room. He knocked twice on the door before letting himself in. “I’m back. Fuck you for kissing me when you had red lipstick on.”

Peter chuckled. “I thought you’d noticed. My apologies.” Peter stood from his desk and smiled at Juno. “Did anyone ask?”

“Not really. They just kind of…” he trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence, and finished with a, “yeah.”

Peter crossed the room to him. “What did you want to talk about earlier, Juno?” He asked, shifting his weight to one leg and crossing his arms.

Damn. He knew Peter would want to jump straight to that. “Well… it’s nothing, honestly. I just wanted to know if we were ever going to tell the crew about… us. We’ve been getting closer, almost as close as we were when you were on Mars, and I just wanted to know what you wanted to do.” He looked at Peter, lips in a tight line and hands toying with his sleeves.

The silence between responses almost killed Juno. Peter finally responded. “Well, that isn’t just for me to decide. What do you want, Juno?”

Juno’s face fell instantly. “Seriously?”

“Something the matter?”

“I asked you because of how secretive you are. I don’t give a shit who knows about us- hell, I’d yell it from the tallest floating mansion in Hyperion if I could. Think about yourself, Nureyev.” Juno answered firmly.

Peter seemed taken aback by this. He had fully expected a half-baked response, maybe something about how he didn’t care what he wanted. Well… he did technically say that, but Peter hadn’t expected anything like that. He supposed this was part of the new Juno Steel. He didn’t dislike it. “Well…” he cleared his throat before continuing, “I would honestly prefer to keep this… us, secret for a little longer. I just prefer secrecy. You know that.”

Juno nodded, hands now clasped loosely together. “That’s all I needed to hear.” He smiled at him.

Peter couldn’t help a small laugh as he closed the distance between them, taking Juno in his arms. “I appreciate you asking.”

“Why wouldn’t I? This isn’t just about me.” Juno wrapped his arms around his thin frame and rested his head on his shoulder.

Peter pressed a gentle kiss to his head. “You’re right.”

“But…”

“But?”

“You have got to do a better job of picking your lipsticks before you kiss me. Bright red? Really?”

“I’m not the one who initiated the first kiss, Juno.”

“A little warning would have been stellar, though!”

“Oh, like I expected you to-”

“Just kiss me again, Nureyev.”

**Author's Note:**

> like this fic? like my other stuff? please consider commissioning me! message me on tumblr (@pinkstarrryskies) or instagram (@flying.roses.cos) for more details and my terms!


End file.
